Have a 2005 lexus gs300. Want to mod it but it's got 175k miles. Would it still be worth modding? I haven't had any big problems with the car, but how long should the car last if I keep replacing the engine and transmission when they went out?

 

what do you mean keep replacing? It’s rare for the engine and trans to go out on these cars unless they were seriously abused or neglected. You’ve replaced it more then once? Many users on original trans and engine with over 300k

 

I have not replaced anything on the car. I've seen this car and gen for sale online with around 200k miles or so and wondered why they were selling them, I've heard they're super reliable and it has good aftermarket support so it confuses me as to why they'd sell it. I'd like to keep this car as long as possible and wanted to know if it makes sense to just replace the stuff when it goes bad or to just buy a newer car.

 

people just want a newer updated car bro. That’s what happened to me then I came back to the GS since there is nothing like a GS4. New cars don’t compare unless your spending close to 100k. It most definitely makes sense to replace stuff, the car is bulletproof if you maintain it. If you can find a clean gs400 or 430 I recommend you try to upgrade then you’ll really want to keep it forever. The difference is night and day. I started with a GS300 then got a GS400 and it’s like a different car.

 

175k isn’t bad at all. Most I see are well over 250-300k. Got that Toyota reliability, so I don’t see any reason you couldn’t mod it. I wouldn’t say the 400/430 is night and day to the 300. The 300 had better gearing to make up for the 2 less cylinders and a by far more legendary engine to boot. Both are slow AF by today’s or even yesterday’s standards. But if you want fast you get a 2jz and turbo it for sure. I’ve driven both, not impressed by either in stock form. Any LS powered Chevy from the same era would dominate either. But I think these are great cars, (hence why I own one). I think Toyota makes the best automobile’s on the planet.

 

I was going to crack wise about being able to at least handle a FWD Impala SS, but looking at the numbers I'm actually having doubts.

 

I wouldn’t call the 300 legendary over the 1UZ. 1UZ is probably the best engine Toyota ever made. They weren’t playing around when they developed the 1UZ. Billions were spent. It’s a racing engine. It truly is night and day driving a 300 then driving the gs400. Can’t compare an impala that’s meant for speed but I’m strictly talking compare to the gs300 the 1UZ gs400 is a beast and I’ve seen many original 1UZ engines with over 300k on them. If you ever drove a gs400 in new condition with a full tune up it’s truly amazing. For the price it goes for now and days I think there is no better car for the money.

 

The 2006-09 Impala SS wasn't really made for speed. Actually, I don't know what any Impala after 1996 was made to be, but I'm also surprised that the '06-09 SS barely ekes out a win versus a GS400. I guess it's not that surprising though considering Toyota had a head start of nearly a decade (followed by their habit of resting on their laurels for entirely too long) and GM needed to bring an LS to the table to be competitive in a market segment they don't give two ****s about.

Having driven both stock-for-stock, the GS400 is what I call competent and sufficient for a daily but not "truly amazing" in my book, while the GS300 is *zzzzzzzzzz*. Both engines are far more reliable than most would expect an engine to be. If you're modding, a stock 2JZ-GE can take more abuse and boost than a 1UZ VVTi. The 2JZ-GE is a total sloth in stock form, but there are NA-T options for not a vast amount of effort or resources.

1UZ aftermarket efforts were largely ignored by most of the world and almost entirely propped up by the Aussies and the Kiwis, for which I'm thankful if I ever run out of things to do and want to get an Eaton blower.

 

well I mean truly amazing for what it is, a v8 engine that was made like 25 years ago. Can’t find many good v8 sports sedans now and days for cheap with reliability. Horsepower may be the same as modern day v6 but the v8 just drives so much smoother and better.

 

Awesome! I think I wanna stick to the gs300, serial nine has alot of mods specifically the cd009 adapter to take a 2jz-gte engine and it'd be nice to make it sleeper like or a vip build. I heard the v8's cost more to repair. Thanks for the replies!

 

Agree on the smoothness of the 1UZ. That definitely stood out to me compared to the stock 2JZ in the GS300. I also prefer the GS400's exhaust note. Even a friend of mine with a Camaro SS was impressed with it, which is both nice and slightly amusing to me because I'm just thinking, "It's stock. It's one of the few things on this car I haven't considered modding," considering exhaust was one of the staple starter mods for these cars when they first came out.

I guess as far as the OP's question, if the chassis is in good condition, there really isn't anything that should get in the way aside from your budget. People selling their 15-23 year old cars doesn't really say anything about their reliability or moddability.

 

yes deff repairs are more money in the v8 especially the starter. If you plan to do turbo then the v6 is the way to go. Good luck with your build bro. Don’t worry about mileage if the chassis is in good condition and your doing a turbo swap anyway. Replace all the control arms, tie rods, sway bar bushings, motors mounts and struts and the car will be like new.

 

Noice! Thank you so much! Any ideas on what cars a 500 hp gs300 could keep up with? And thoughts on a sleeper or vip build? Could both be achieved?